TheSamba.com :: View topic

Wed May 27, 2009 3:42 pm

Would it fit, if so what would it take to get it to? How much do you think one is worth?

Wed May 27, 2009 4:07 pm

It would fit, but unless you are pretty crafty yourself will cost several grand to cut a hole in your roof and sucure it properly, plus you'd prolly want to find someone that has done it before

Wed May 27, 2009 4:13 pm

HeftySmurf wrote: It would fit, but unless you are pretty crafty yourself will cost several grand to cut a hole in your roof and sucure it properly, plus you'd prolly want to find someone that has done it before
Is it more work tha installing a westy poptop?

Wed May 27, 2009 5:22 pm

Well, I never done one personally... there are a few topics about it.
What you gottthink about is cutting the hole, which won't necessarily be a big deal, but properly fastening (securely) and sealing it would be the hard part I feel. Also to how is the condiotion of the hight top? Will it need to be reinsulated or have any cracks fixed? Just a few things to think about. I would love a high top in the future but maybe on a van that came with one..... good luck

Wed May 27, 2009 6:25 pm

HeftySmurf wrote: Well, I never done one personally... there are a few topics about it.
What you gottthink about is cutting the hole, which won't necessarily be a big deal, but properly fastening (securely) and sealing it would be the hard part I feel. Also to how is the condiotion of the hight top? Will it need to be reinsulated or have any cracks fixed? Just a few things to think about. I would love a high top in the future but maybe on a van that came with one..... good luck
Its next to impossible to find a cheap adventurewagen though :x

Wed May 27, 2009 8:45 pm

Agreed, do you have access to a top?

Wed May 27, 2009 8:55 pm

HeftySmurf wrote: Agreed, do you have access to a top?
Theres a guy selling a Adventurewagen complete without engine for 1k, its a 82 and he says the top has some mold that could be treated with bleach

Wed May 27, 2009 8:55 pm

Not mine.....

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/cto/1150179009.html

Wed May 27, 2009 8:58 pm

914 mike wrote: Not mine.....

http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/cto/1150179009.html
HAHAH thats the one im talking about :lol:

Wed May 27, 2009 9:39 pm

Mold isnt the problem...
THe rest of the van looks rough though
Whats your budget (do vanagon owners have those?)

Wed May 27, 2009 9:43 pm

After doing a country homes camper top, I don't think it would be that hard, but yes you would need to be creative in attaching and finishing. Easier than a westy top IMHO. Not sure how easily it will come off the donor van.

You could also paint the top pretty nicely if it doesn't come clean enough for you.

Do you have centerline A/C in your GL? That would also require some modification.

Fun project.

Wed May 27, 2009 9:44 pm

HeftySmurf wrote: Mold isnt the problem...
THe rest of the van looks rough though
Whats your budget (do vanagon owners have those?)
How do you get rid of mold? HAHAHHA I do have a budget but itd be the 1k hes asking but theres stuff my 88 wants like insulation and a stereo system so I might pass it up :cry:

Wed May 27, 2009 9:49 pm

Steelhead wrote: After doing a country homes camper top, I don't think it would be that hard, but yes you would need to be creative in attaching and finishing. Easier than a westy top IMHO. Not sure how easily it will come off the donor van.

You could also paint the top pretty nicely if it doesn't come clean enough for you.

Do you have centerline A/C in your GL? That would also require some modification.

Fun project.
Yeah I do but I plan on possibly removing the middle channel as many Samba members do it for the extra headroom and it looks better IMO

Thu May 28, 2009 2:36 pm

I put an AW top on what was a standard westy pop-top.
Securing the AW top will be the easiest part, it's definitely time consuming but far from difficult.
Assume that the rails on the pictured AW are rusted out and worthless, so what you will need is some stainless flats available at any hardware (it's cheap), to attach to your vanagons body. I'd be happy to take some pics of mine later showing what I'm talking about.
What's time consuming is drilling all the holes around and screwing this all together. Not a big deal, just time.
Assuming the pictured top is structurally sound, I think this is a reasonable deal, especially if you can work out a sale of the remains of that old van, and about the only way to cheaply acquire an AW top.
Btw, you're going to need the help of some friends to get the top over, it's two pieces and pretty heavy.

Thu May 28, 2009 2:39 pm

Also, just realized that's likely to have an in-dash Behr ac unit.
If so, that's quite a bit of the asking price's value. :)

Thu May 28, 2009 4:46 pm

levi wrote: Also, just realized that's likely to have an in-dash Behr ac unit.
If so, that's quite a bit of the asking price's value. :)
How much are those?

Thu May 28, 2009 4:52 pm

So I went and looked at a $500 westy today, might go with adding a poptop to my vanagon

Westy

Mine

Thu May 28, 2009 5:08 pm

blakeck2 wrote: levi wrote: Also, just realized that's likely to have an in-dash Behr ac unit.
If so, that's quite a bit of the asking price's value. :)
How much are those?

Usually in the 300-400 range.

Thu May 28, 2009 5:15 pm

blakeck2 wrote: So I went and looked at a $500 westy today, might go with adding a poptop to my vanagon

Westy

Mine

Why do you want to make so much work for yourself?
With all the mods necessary to make a decent pop-top conversion (or an AW conversion on a 7 passenger van)....
It would be so much easier to just start with a base westy.
I'd buy a $500 westy in a second and switch over the AW hi-top, but there's no way I'd want to mess with cutting up the 7 passenger and try to make that work, unless of course, if there were no reasonable westy's available.

Thu May 28, 2009 5:25 pm

Levi,
Can't I cut the westy room off and then cut the 7 pass and weld the westy one on?